Good news. A new place on the Upper East is hosting live music on Wednesday nights: Café Notte on Second Avenue between 84th and 85th. This is the former location of my beloved DTUT (which stood for DownTown, UpTown), a coffee shop that basically served as my living room/office/kitchen for years until they closed their doors (or…eh hem, had their doors closed for them) last year. I haven’t quite recovered from this neighborhood loss yet, so I had to give myself a little pep talk before checking out Café Notte. While there are tons of places to go out on the Upper East, I find that there isn’t all that much live music – so, fortunately, this was an enticement.
Though I had an affection for (and infection from?) DTUT’s dumpy, worn-down couches, and scratched-up tables, I have to admit that this space’s new incarnation looks fantastic. The bar is curvaceous, the lighting subtle, and color scheme subdued. It’s romantic and somewhat funky.
But it was surreal to be in this place where I have logged literally hundreds of hours writing on my laptop and overdosing on caffeine. Last Wednesday I brought five friends and told them that if they wanted to know where all the electrical outlets were, I’d be happy to give them a thorough tour. At the end of the bar there used to be a large, bustling, communal table for laptoppers (where many friendships were born and some computers died due to spilled cups). Now, this is where the bands set up. On the brick wall behind them, columns of wine bottles artfully repose on their sides. 
The night we went, we saw The Shiny Shoes Band, a young New Orleans Jazz group, led by singer and trombonist Marius Dicpetris. It was obvious that these guys were having fun and their mood was infectious. Dicpetris is charismatic with an uncanny ability to channel Louis Armstrong: if you looked away when he was singing, you’d think Satchmo himself was in the house. The best was when they abandoned their station and paraded through the café with their instruments, as if the saints really were marching in. The customers, now filling the place, were clearly loving this.
Café Notte’s menu offers an extensive wine list, most notably, 40 bottles under $40. The edible offerings include a selection of small plates, paninis, and salads. Based on our experience, it seems that they have some kinks to work out in the kitchen. Or maybe it’s a matter of transport, getting food and libation from the kitchen and bar to the tables in a timely fashion.
Either way, most of our party was wishing we’d eaten before arriving and some of us went out afterwards for some grub nearby. But Café Notte only opened in January so we’re going cut them some slack and assume that we either experienced a particularly frenzied night (possibly due to the fantastic music) or that they’re going to get this part of their biz under control soon. We certainly hope so.
We’ll probably all go back again for the live music on Wednesdays between 7 and 10.
The upcoming line-up is as follows:
October 1: Singer-songwriter Tanner Walle
October 15: Acoustic, folksy, hip-hop group Bacci
3 comments:
Cool place - the bruschetta was tasty and the portion was large when I went. Nice to find out there is a place with some good live music in the area.
I too went to cafe notte to hear some live music and it did not disappoint. However, the night I was there, the kitchen seemed to have a complete meltdown as orders took forever to get out or just never made it at all. I'll certainly give it another chance, though b/c the wine and the music were very good.
Did not know DTUT is gone. Really liked that place. A friend of mine used to sing there by times. New place sounds interesting. There is something wonderful about live music. Thanks for the tip.
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